Jul 20 2012

“Ever-Flowing Streams” nominated for award

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I’m pleased to announce that EVER-FLOWING STREAMS has been named a Finalist in the Religion & Spirituality Category in the eFestival of Words Independent Ebook Awards, sponsored by BardsandSages.com.

You can view all the nominees in many categories here: http://www.efestivalofwords.com/post761.html#p761

Be sure to vote for EVER-FLOWING STREAMS while you’re there!

Book Description

“Ever-Flowing Streams” chronicles the author’s spiritual adventures through the seemingly disconnected avenues of Christianity, the Japanese healing system of Reiki, quantum physics, and past-life therapy. While living a middle-class, conventional life, the author is drawn to the healing prayer wave of the 1980’s. Seeking a healthier life and answers to a recurring medical mystery, she goes beyond the boundaries of the church to study the emerging mind-body-spirit movements of the day. In 2005, an encounter with a Reiki therapist changes her life and challenges her belief system. Ultimately, the book deals with the power of prayer and includes exercises for readers to explore their own healing possibilities.

Available exclusively as an ebook at Amazon

Jul 16 2012

“Lessons from the Source” Inspire

LESSONS FROM THE SOURCE by Jack Armstrong is a book of inspired channeled messages that resonate with authenticity. I’ve been following Jack for a few years now and have been impressed with his humble, but wise manner. He offers his material without a heavy dose of ego bolstering. Jack is the Real Deal.

From the book description:

Thirty years ago, Jack Armstrong began receiving a series of simple and practical life lessons from an unknown inner source. While he did not understand where they were coming from or why they were being presented to him, it was clear the teachings were unlike any he had encountered during his own spiritual quest. He continued recording the lessons but kept them a secret from family and friends, fearing they might question his sanity. Years passed before he gathered the courage to share these writings, but when he did, the response was overwhelming. Lessons from the Source is a collection of those writings that offers a new perspective on spiritual issues most of us grapple with regularly. This spiritual guidebook discusses the nature of life’s journey, the challenges we confront, ways to overcome the challenges, and opportunities to make the journey more enjoyable. Like the Conversations with God books and A Course in Miracles, the insights found in Lessons from the Source reflect a source of wisdom that explains the deeper truths of our lives. It offers down-to-earth, yet profound and powerful, lessons about life and spirituality, posing a refreshing perspective about our life on earth.

This is very clean, channelled material that I used as a spiritual pick-me-up in the mornings. Jack avoids interjecting his perspectives and ego and lets the material speak for itself. There is a lot of similarity to the Abraham-Hicks information, without coining catchy phrases. The most enduring theme is “Claiming and Accepting Your Good.” Taken as a daily devotional, the ideas raise us out of our worries and mind chatter. The Source seeks to take us from an attitude of Duality (me here, God there) to Non-Duality (Divinity & Me united).

Chapter One kicks off with this passage:

You are one with the entire universe–its substance, its intelligence, its activity….You are an expression of my divinity, where all is in order.

Did the material rock my world? No, but it might rock someone else’s who isn’t so familiar with this kind of thinking. “Lessons” offers a daily dose of uplifting thoughts and a paradigm shift toward living plugged into Spirit. The ideas can be sipped and steeped as you move through your day.

At the end Armstrong offers a short, candid accounting of his life journey, which has had very human struggles. He doesn’t come close to taking on a guru persona and is still trying to incorporate the ideas he received so long ago. It takes courage to reveal messages that seem to come from another mind and it took him decades to go public with the information. As more and more people reveal their encounters with Divinity, it will become our “new normal.”

As the catch-phrase goes– “Change your life, change your thinking“— LESSONS FROM THE SOURCE is a good place to start.

UPDATE: August 2015– New release from Jack Armstrong-

Affirmations of the Soul, Volume One

“In Jack Armstrong’s newest book, he shares powerful and positive affirmations that remind us of spiritual truths we already know, help us release our attachment to negative thoughts or emotions, and clear the pathway to a more joyous, fulfilling and abundant life.

The affirmations included in Affirmations of the Soul, which will be the first volume of a continuing series, address issues as varied as spiritual guidance, the manifestation of desires, letting go of despair, living in the moment and financial abundance.”

I look forward to downloading this latest offering from Jack. I’m sure it will be a good way to begin my days.

Visit Lessons From The Source for more information.

Jul 13 2012

What I read on my summer vacation

Between making up stories about Spiderman and dinosaurs with my grandson, I was able to read some books by writers who have aroused my curiosity as we’ve rubbed elbows on the web. Interestingly, three men with seemingly very different books all penned life-affirming messages in their unique ways. Here’s a little snapshot of each work:

VOYAGE OF PURPOSE by David Bennett is so much more than a NDE (near death experience) recap, although going to the Light, the Life Review and all that jazz is always fascinating. Bennett lives in a place of high spiritual awareness as a result of extreme challenges. The book chronicles his journey through a disjointed childhood, his workaholic engineer days, the NDE experience that changed everything and the excruciating cancer that sharpened all his spiritual sensibilities. He’s a man living out his Purpose and shining the Light for others to follow.

I may be the only person in America who has read DREAM ANGEL, written by my new Aussie Friend, Pat Ritter. A few weeks ago I received a personal message from Mr. Ritter via Facebook introducing himself as a fellow author from Downunder who has enjoyed my books. I decided to return the favor and see what this fellow was all about. The cover of the book is quite misleading. A Noir-type detective theme with a Columbo cover might be more appropriate, for Mr. Ritter is a retired Australian detective. This autobiography depicts a gentlemen of quality who devoted himself to others through the various avenues of police work that presented itself over the course of forty years. You can almost hear the Aussie lilt as his life unfolds with a sense of destiny underlying it all. The devotion to his work and family shines through. Dream Angel tells the story of a life well-lived.

Finally, DROP OUT by Neil D. Ostroff capped off my male-author reading adventures. Neil has dropped by the Indie Romance Author thread at Kindle Boards to promote his book and piqued my curiosity. A romance that begins in the disaster of the World Trade Center? The opening of this novella is riveting and disturbing as the author takes us inside the burning, imploding buildings. His vivid portrayal of the chaos and incredulity of those moments will not soon be forgotten. The story centers on Nathan and the two women who touch his soul. This is a short piece and can be heart-wrenching at times. Ultimately, Nathan has to choose between embracing life or continuing a living death.

All of these books have spiritual underpinnings to challenge readers to look deeper into their own lives. Are you embracing life or just letting it pass on by? I recommend all of them for entertainment and life-affirming inspiration.

Jun 6 2012

Near Death Experience explored in “Voyage of Purpose”

Ever since Dr. Raymond Moody released the ground breaking Life After Life in 1975, near death experiences have been challenging all our traditional ideas of life and death. Now comes a book from David Bennett that goes further to change our paradigms and fire our imaginations: VOYAGE OF PURPOSE: Spiritual Wisdom from Near Death and Back to Life

“David Bennett, once a brash young commercial diver whose personal philosophy was “cut your way through life to survive,” was caught in a violent storm off the California coast one night where he drowned. While technically “dead,” he met beings of light, relived his life, and peeked into his future, resulting in a complete paradigm shift for him. Later, he discovered he had stage IV lung and bone cancer—so advanced that his spine collapsed. Miraculously, he survived once again, and this second close call taught him even more about living, loving, and how to find purpose in his life.

Voyage of Purpose brings readers right into the heart of the near-death experience, including the sensations of dying, being surrounded by the light, and meeting the Soul Family. Part memoir and part guide for achieving spiritual growth, this book shows how to integrate the most traumatic of incidents into one’s spiritual path in order to live a more meaningful life.”

I encourage you to visit VoyageOfPurpose.com and watch the 4 minute video of David as he explains the major events of his life. You can also READ EXCERPTS and see all the ways David and his wife, Cindy, are using their lives for the betterment of others.David Bennett is a public speaker, and teacher. David has lectured at the International Conference of IANDS (International Association for Near-Death Studies) and shared his inspirational message at groups across the country including Lillydale.He has consulted for both radio and television including Oprah and Dr. Oz as a NDE resource, appearances including being filmed for NBC national news and PBS. David’s articles appear in numerous magazines, blogs and papers.

May 23 2012

Supernal Living with Dana Taylor

by Dana Taylor

UPDATE: May 23, 2012: I first posted this blog in November of 2011. Since then, it has been viewed nearly everyday by multiple people. Obviously, the world is interested in angels! My admiration goes out to the folks of Joplin, MO, who have picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and started all over again. And we join them in missing the loved ones that were lost.

Last night the CBS evening news ended with a feature on the “Butterfly Angels” of Joplin, MO. It’s been six months since a massive tornado tore across the plain, sending cars, homes, and trees tumbling into chaos and destruction. In the midst of that fury, some people sensed the presence of spiritual helpers. Many children reported seeing big “butterflies.” From the blogsite All About Boomers comes this description on the June 30th post:

As the tornado approached, a father and his two young children were outside…

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May 21 2012

A Sacred journey traveled in THE WAY

This weekend I was finally able to see THE WAY with Martin Sheen. This Indy movie written, directed, and produced by Sheen’s son, Emilio Estevez, had been on my must-see list for months. It opened in a few theaters last year, had a good word-of-mouth, but didn’t get the Big Money needed for wide distribution. I’d been trying, in vain, to get it at the only video store left in town. I’m happy to announce, it is currently available through Netflix streaming.

image title The story line is simple, Martin Sheen’s character is a well-to-do LA widower/opthmalogist. While playing a round of golf, he receives a call that his only son (Estevez) has died in France. The son was on the first day of walking the famous Camino de Santiago pilgramage through France and Spain. Thus begins the father’s journey through grief, both physically and metaphorically, as he carries the son’s ashes across two countries on an ancient road.

The scenery alone is worth the price of admission. The mountains, villages, and meadows are a spiritual experience. Sheen becomes one of an unlikely quartet taking the journey for personal reasons. They begin as strangers, but end as comrades, having faced their challenges in the way that camping and military campaigns brings people together.

The film delivers a subtle sense of spirituality, without ramming any particular viewpoint down the viewer’s throat. It conveys a lovely respect for the Sacred as the group makes it to the official end of the road at the Cathedral of Santiago which honors St. James. Estevez takes his time with the scene as the characters experience the spiritual communion in their own ways.

I’m sure I’m one of millions of movie lovers constantly seeking a film that not only tells a story, but lifts the spirit. Finding a movie like THE WAY, is like finding a gold nugget in a mountain of worthless, dull rocks.

Have a lovely day!

Dana Taylor